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Area-Based Urban Renewal Approach for Smart Cities Development in India: Challenges of Inclusion and Sustainability

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  • Sarbeswar Praharaj

    (Knowledge Exchange for Resilience, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, USA)

Abstract

Cities in the Global South face rapid urbanization challenges and often suffer an acute lack of infrastructure and governance capacities. Smart Cities Mission, in India, launched in 2015, aims to offer a novel approach for urban renewal of 100 cities following an area-based development approach, where the use of ICT and digital technologies is particularly emphasized. This article presents a critical review of the design and implementation framework of this new urban renewal program across selected case-study cities. The article examines the claims of the so-called “smart cities” against actual urban transformation on-ground and evaluates how “inclusive” and “sustainable” these developments are. We quantify the scale and coverage of the smart city urban renewal projects in the cities to highlight who the program includes and excludes. The article also presents a statistical analysis of the sectoral focus and budgetary allocations of the projects under the Smart Cities Mission to find an inherent bias in these smart city initiatives in terms of which types of development they promote and the ones it ignores. The findings indicate that a predominant emphasis on digital urban renewal of selected precincts and enclaves, branded as “smart cities,” leads to deepening social polarization and gentrification. The article offers crucial urban planning lessons for designing ICT-driven urban renewal projects, while addressing critical questions around inclusion and sustainability in smart city ventures.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarbeswar Praharaj, 2021. "Area-Based Urban Renewal Approach for Smart Cities Development in India: Challenges of Inclusion and Sustainability," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(4), pages 202-215.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v6:y:2021:i:4:p:202-215
    DOI: 10.17645/up.v6i4.4484
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ola Söderström & Till Paasche & Francisco Klauser, 2014. "Smart cities as corporate storytelling," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 307-320, June.
    2. Nripendra P. Rana & Sunil Luthra & Sachin Kumar Mangla & Rubina Islam & Sian Roderick & Yogesh K. Dwivedi, 2019. "Barriers to the Development of Smart Cities in Indian Context," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 503-525, June.
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